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EU, U.S. Agree on Approach
To Farm-Subsidy Reductions

Updated Aug. 14, 2003 12:01 a.m. ET

Europe and the U.S. agreed on a joint approach to reduce farm-trade subsidies and tariffs, a key compromise intended to jump-start stalled world-trade talks by persuading poor countries to scale back their own protectionist policies.

The agreement, hammered out between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and the European Union commissioners in a late-night, five-hour teleconference is still thin on details. Even the EU considers it preliminary: the European Commission -- the chief trade negotiator for the 15-nation EU...